Masked Innocence
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Dead, then born anew, Ichigo Kurosaki returns as an espada, but on the very first day of his promotion, heaven itself is shaken and everything he ever knew is changed forever. All by one shinigami. Language Ichigo, lemons, pairing undecided, Pm for votes.
1. Madre de Dios

**_If anyone's done what I have done in this fic, then I'll be very surprised. By the way, the timeline is currently just BEFORE Rukia went to Karakura, just in case you're wondering. And don't shoot me!_**

**_Madre de Dios_**

"_Let's take the long way home, Ichigo."_

"_But mommy, it's starting to rain…"_

_"Don't worry, I brought my umbrella."_

_He grinned, squeezing her hand a little._

_"Okay!"_

"_Ah!" A car sped by through a puddle, splashing muddy brown water right onto him._

"_Oh my, oh my, what a bad truck. Are you okay, Ichigo?" She pulled a cloth out of her pocket and began to wipe his face. "Sorry. Here, let's switch. I'll walk on the roadside._

"_It's okay! I'll stay on this side. I'm wearing a raincoat, so I'll be fine!"_

_Masaki smiled._

_It'd been such a carefree smile too...._

"_Why are we stopping. …Mommy?" He tugged on her skirt._

"_We're waiting for someone. A friend of mine."_

"… _Okay." He smiled up at her as they both shared the umbrella, then froze as a strange dark shape loomed over them. His eyes went wide, he took a small step back, and tried to speak._

"_Look out! Run!" He remembered his panic as that humongous, masked monster leered at them that day. His mom didn't pay attention to the monster with an Angler-fish type lure protruding from his forehead. In fact, she seemed...._

_Calm._

"_Shhh, It's okay, Ichigo. Calm down." _

_She seemed calm._

_He was rigid, unable to take his eyes off of the threatening entity._

"_Do you trust mommy, Ichigo?"_

--

"Ichigo-sama."

"Nrggh, go away. I'm sleeping."

"Sir, you need to wake up, or you're going to be late."

"Whuzzat?" He sat up in bed, blinking away the haze from his eyes then rubbing at them when the urge to go back to sleep became to powerful to resists otherwise. As his vision cleared he recognized one of the many numerous aides that filled this castle. "Late for what?"

"The meeting's about to begin, sir."

"Huh." He nodded, sighed and stood up, the Hollow hole in the middle of his chest exposed as he stretched and allowed her to dress him in a fresh outfit for today. Pulling on his coat, he fastened the three buckles across his chest, tightened the blue sash around his hakama pants and grabbed his Zanpakuto, white sheath gripped in his left hand.

"Will you be needing anything else?"

"Nope." Opening his door, he entered the hallway, heading for the meeting room.

He was bored, bored out of his skin.

As an arrancar, even as an espada there really wasn't much to do. He didn't have an appetite for hollows or wholes anymore, he didn't want a fraccion, and he found the prospect of visiting the living world completely and utterly boring.

What fun was it if they couldn't see you?

However, today was supposed to be a big day, even though he'd only just become an arrancar last week, he was officially assuming the role of an espada, as of today. Even more significant, the espada were actually assembling for a meeting for the first time in a millenia, and what made all the more important was the induction of their newest member.

Namely, one Kurosaki Ichigo.

Dordonii had given him the most lavish quarters available, but still, Ichigo preferred the modest abode he'd just exited. Now that he was awake however, the problem was..

He had no idea how to get to the meeting room.

Footfalls echoed in the empty corridors of the castle, prompting him to turn slightly to the left.

"Something bothering you, niño?"

"Yo, Dordonini." Ichigo replied half heartedly, not even bothering to glance as the eccentric arrancar came beside him.

"It's _Dordonii!_ Not Dordonini!" Ichigo resisted the urge to laugh as steam erupted from the the man's nose and ears, his usual rant already well since forthcoming. "Even after all theses years, why can't you get it right, niño?!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever, Dordonini." Ichigo shrugged with a snicker, trying not to smile but failing to remain stoic, at the ever recurring outbursts of his fellow espada. True, he knew how to pronounce the tercera espada's name, but he often deliberately mispronounced it for a laugh, or to get on Dordonii's nerves.

Despite this, Ichigo still held the man in high regard. He'd practically been raised by the arrancar, and that made Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio the closest thing to family he had.

With an ominous creak, the doors parted for him, exposing a dimly lit room occupied by a single, solitary table with ten or so chairs encircling its rectangular shape. And there _they_ were, each sitting in their customary seat at the table, revealed by a dim glow panel on the ceiling.

Ulquiorra Schiffer. Segunda espada.

Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio. Tercera espada.

Aaroniero Arruruerie. Quarta espada.

Cirucci Thunderwitch. Quinta espada.

Luppi. Sexta espada.

Gantenbainne Mosqueda. Septima espada.

Neliel Tu Oderschvank. Octava espada.

Demora. Noveno espada.

Luppi. Decima espada.

Everyone was here, and _he_ was the last to arrive. He felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment when some turned to stare at him, other's glared, and still others, didn't even acknowledge his existence.

"Sit, Kurosaki Ichigo." This from Ulquiorra, whose gaze strayed to the empty seat at the head of the table. Clasping his shoulder, Dordonii moved past the newest espada, jerking his head in the direction in which Ulquiorra had directed his stare. Quietly, Ichigo did so, leaning slightly forward into the light moments later...

And exposing the number _one_ proudly tattooed upon his right cheek.

Ichigo Kurosaki was their new Primera.

"Yo?" He ventured nervously, seeking to alleviate some of the eyes upon him.

"Yo." Demora replied stupidly, something which drew small smiles from the rest of the espada.

"Welcome to the espada then, Ichigo." This came from Neliel, and he relaxed slightly at her gentle smile. He didn't really know Nel all that well, but it was good to be acknowledged, and even now, one by one, the espada formally re-introduced themselves to him.

Ichigo's crimson blush was likely making his tattoo all the more prominent right now. However, before he could say another word, the violent explosion rocked the room, sending Luppi and the hulking Demora from their seats. Someone got the lights, and the room was plunged into darkness.

Dordonii swore and grabbed Ichigo by the wrist, dragging him from his seat and pulling him towards the door, just as a voice declared:

"Shoot em dead, Shinsou."

Then the screaming began.

--

The screaming behind and ahead of them, reached its climax, then stopped. Fearing the worst, Ichigo raced ahead of Dordonii, heedless of the _tercera's_ cries to wait and allow him to catch up. Ichigo couldn't hear him, his burning gaze was fixated upon the far off entrance of Las Noches, where a blazing reaitsu could be felt.

"Niño, wait!"

Thusly, it was far too late when the onyx slab came down behind Ichigo, effectively barring him off from the man he'd come to call father, who swore and spit at the unexpected road block, and though he smashed right through it. Still, Ichigo had gotten too far ahead, speeding through the halls, and upon reaching the archway, burst out into the perpetual night once more, scanning the horizon for the attacker.

His eyes widened, then tripled as he saw the intruder.

A woman. A bespectacled brunette actually, wearing a shinigami's shihakusho and captain's haori, her curly brown hair almost lending her an air of innocence. Almost. Her sword was covered in blood, making it all too clear that she was the one who'd been slaughtering the arrancar.

His eyes narrowed in anger, then confusion.

"Shinigami!"

Ichigo bolted forward as the lifeless body upon her blade was brought to its knees, his voice tearing out of him in a bestial roar as the woman slid the zanpakuto out of its scabbard. The shinigami casually brought her blade up and blocked the strike, Ichigo's monstrous cleaver crashing against the sword in a shower of white sparks. The Shinigami's eyes stared into that of heropponent's, the irritation in the arrancar's brown orbs meeting a practically emotionless glare.

"Shinigami! What the hell're you doing here?!"

"You're holding back." She replied, quietly, her sword breaking from his own to delve into his right cheek, leaving a paper thin slice that began to leak blood as she propelled herself away from him. "That...will never do."

Ichigo didn't answer, instead deflecting a jab to his knee, then forcing the intruder back with a series of furious strikes. She would have none of it however, and within a heartbeat, their positions had reversed and s_he_ was the one forcing Ichigo on the retreat, with such precision that Ichigo soon recognized the futilety of this attack.

"_Getsuga_…" Ichigo snarled as energy began to swell along his blade, "_Tenshou!"_

The blue crescent of energy arced forward at the shinigami from point blank range. It plowed onward, pushing her backwards as she was forced to hold her block against the powerful attack. With a simple flick of her wrist, however, she slashed the fang of energy in half. As her vision cleared, the woman saw that Ichigo was already flying towards him in the wake of the attack; the espada now flanked by two more of his fellow arrancar.

"Three against one?" The woman shook her head in disdain and raised a finger at each of the two numeros. "Hardly fair."

Ichigo dropped flat to the sands as she muttered the word Byakurai, and the two soldiers dropped dead, a bolt of white light piercing through their skulls and ending their lives in a horrifically short fashion.

"Please, allow me to introduce myself." The Shinigami smiled as she took off her glasses, sweeping a hand through her hair. "My name is Sosuke Aizen, the former Captain of Squad Five in Soul Society. I have left Soul Society in order to unite the Hollows for a war against Soul Society, leading to the eventual freedom of all Hollows."

Ichigo laughed. "Are you fucking serious? You honestly believe that I'm going to listen to a Shinigami?"

"Of course not." Aizen said as she drew her sword. "Hollows respect beings with strength, and I have not yet proven my strength to you. So, why don't we make a wager? We will fight, you against me. If I win, you agree to serve under me. If you win, you get to eat a Captain level Shinigami, which I'm sure is not something you get every day."

Ichigo made a face at that.

"And if I refuse?"

Aizen smiled.

"Well, my allies are currently inside your fortress, slaughtering _your_ allies. Surely you don't want all of your comrades to-

She never got the chance to finish her sentence.

Their blades crashed against each other once more as Ichigo launched into a flurry of strikes. Aizen dodged and parried perfectly, her movements appearing effortless in contrast with her opponent's sloppy, rage driven attacks. Finally, Ichigo suddenly jabbed forward with his zanpakuto, the black tip of _Zangetsu _aiming directly for the soul reaper's chest.

Surprise flickering across her face, Aizen skipped directly backwards and quickly lifted his blade to counter, Ichigo's sword raking across _Kyouka Suigetsu's _pale edge, before passing through thin air and ramming itself firmly within the sand. A yellow film of _reiatsu _suddenly wrapped around his arms and legs, effectively freezing him in place before he could hope to dislodge his blade.

"Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku. Now," Ichigo looked up in helpless fury as the woman reached forward and grabbed his right forearm, further locking him into place. A small orb of azure light began to swirl around in front of her cuped hands as she pulled Ichigo even closer to her. Her mouth opened as a solemn whisper emerged:

"_Soren Sokatsui."_

The large blast _slammed _into Ichigo, leaving a swath of charred earth in the ground as it drilled through and demolished the nearest grove of trees, the old and ancient oaks crumbling down upon the shinigami's prone form as he finally skidded to an unmoving halt.

"Are you done?" Aizen asked calmly to the pile of rubble. "If so-

The words died away as _that _reaitsu slammed into her.

"_Shut up__." _came Ichigo's reply as black light began to flicker and spark about the debris. Moments later, a hand burst from the pile, and tossed one of the pieces aside. This process was repeated until at last, Ichigo Kurosaki stood from the rubble caused by Aizen's _kido. "I said shut up!"_

His form had changed slightly, his skin taking on a white tinge, was on now, red and white streaks lining the left side of his face while the right half remained covered in a mask, shattered by the _cero's _blast. His clothing was tattered slightly and his left sleeve was completely gone, having been burned away in the blast of his release, which also comprised of a long slender black sword. His gold and black eyes, framed by a long orange mane of hair, were still burning on the woman ahead of him, and a long tail danced behind his back, occasionally thumping against the ground.

_"That friggin hurt." _He all but growled. _"That friggin HURT!"_

"I see," Aizen said as she cooly regarded the arrancar, looking on calmly as the two began to circle each other once more. "So you used your resureccion's reaitsu to strengthen your defense and endure my kido. Not bad."

_"Well then," _Ichigo slumped forward slightly, then stepped out of the shadows to expose his face, wearing a slightly befuzzled and out of place grin that was ever so slightly disturbing. With a moments notice, Ichigo grinned again and took his stance. _"You're gonna love this."_

The only warning Aizen had was a widening of Ichigo's grin before pain exploded through her side as Ichigo kicked her, driving his foot into her abdomen just under the rib cage.

Aizen silently cursed as the momentum of the kick threw her towards Ichigo's returning swing, _Kyouka Suigetsu_ meeting _Tensa Zangetsu _squarely for the second time during their fight. Ichigo laughed, eyes wide and bright behind the mask. "_Don't let your guard down soul reaper, you'll make it too easy for me!"_

Aizen blanched at this abrupt change of pace. Ichigo, was far stronger than she'd anticipated him to be, and thusly, the petite shinigami was sent skidding backwards for several feet once more.

Ichigo laughed even louder, racing forward to attack again, but Aizen recovered nearly instantly, her blade coming up to deflect the arrancar's strike again, sending it flying to the side.

Ichigo's expression could not be seen behind the mask, but his eyes tightened in amusement as he rolled with the block, allowing her blade to slightly graze his wrist as he effortlessly blocked with his forearm. Sparks spurted instead of blood, and her zanpaktou froze, as if it'd come into contact with steel, not flesh and bone.

Ichigo twisted his hand, the blade following it, then tightened his grip and gave a savage pull, making Aizen stumble forward one step. Ichigo laughed as he brought his own blade around, the intent all too clear.

But Aizen stepped forward, thrusting her zanpakuto forward to loosen Ichigo's grip, then pulling it back in one smooth motion. Sparks sprayed from the wound on Ichigo's hand, followed by blood as the sword neatly sliced through his forefinger and index finger, as Aizen had withdrawn her sword, the blood streaming after it.

Ichigo blinked in surprise, then laughed.

_"So, that's it?"_

Again, the shinigami frowned as the arrancar simply regrew the misplaced digits.

Aizen struck out as he passed by Ichigo, slicing toward's the arrancar's unguarded left side. Ichigo, his swing having missed, spun around to raise his heel, and kicked her, sword and all, away before the swing could be completed.

Landing gracefully upon her left foot, Aizen slid back almost a foot before finding her balance and planting her feet. She swiped forward with her blade, causing Ichigo to leap backwards, his body flipping backwards in the air before landing delicately on one foot.

"Impressive reflexes," Aizen commended her opponent as he put his second foot on the ground and raised his stance to match her own. "But I was actually _hoping_ that you would be able to block that one."

_"What?"_ Ichigo cocked his head to one side, and before he could even begin to guess what she was up to this time, he received his answer.

Aizen held up her Zanpakuto. "Kudakero, Kyoka Suigetsu (Shatter, Mirror Flower Water Moon)."

Aizen's Zanpakuto flashed white for an instant, then returned to normal. Ichigo eyed it uneasily, just because it didn't look any different didn't mean it was harmless. He'd run into a few soul reapers during his lifetime, and this, their shikai, had always been a pain in the arse.

A bright ball of crimson light began to form in front of Ichigo's face, the sphere of deadly energy swirling powerfully in front of the ghastly grin of his gaping jaws. Shikai or not, he'd just blast her before she could use it.

Aizen ran forward, zanpaktou coming in an overhead arc aimed for his head. Ichigo caught it on the tip of h, letting it slide to the side as he brought the hilt of the weapon up to hit Rukia in the stomach. Aizen slid to the same side that _Kyouka Suigetsu _had went, passing by Ichigo.

Both combatants spun around to face each other again. Ichigo dashed forward, his blade little more than a static black blur as he pressed Aizen from all sides, always forcing her to block, or dodge rarely allowing her the time to actually attack. Several quick exchanges of blows later, neither one had managed to land another hit on each other, and Ichigo was pushing the slender daito against her relatively plain blade as he and Aizen tried to overpower each other.

"See?" Aizen goaded him as they crossed blades once more, sparks flying both ways. "See what you can do when you _try_, Ichigo?"

He didn't answer, but her arm began to tremble as he slammed _Tensa Zangetsu _into _Kyouga Suigetsu _again, the recoil forcing the unseated shinigami to retreat, in an abrupt reversal of their previous position.

A low rumble, muffled by his mask, rustled through the air, and for the first time during their match, Aizen Sosuke felt a touch of fear.

_"Getsuga.." _Ichigo growled, and the former stiffened suddenly, but to no avail, she wasn't going to reach him in time. Pale eyes widened in surprise against the dark light for they at last realized the impending lethality of this attack.

"_Tenshou."_

Moments later, the black energy fang leapt from _Zangetsu_, and into Aizen. Helpless to deflect it, the ex-captain clenched her jaw as the energy fang tore her away from the arrancar, ripping into her with blistering force and a snarling hiss as she was forced to take the block with only Sode no Shirayuki between her and the fearsome energies.

The sharp sound of not _shunpo_, but _sonido_ assaulted her ears, then Tensa Zangetsu filled her peripheal vision.

She turned just in time to block this new attack, but it was too late. The powerful blow sending her leaping backwards to avoid breaking her arm against the recoil, and the black fang roared over her, leaving her to spin dizzily as she finally escaped the hellish fire. Quietly, she drifted down to the ground, and Ichigo grinned as he saw the burns her body had sustained by taking a direct hit from the _Tenshou_ wave.

"You're mine!"

She brought her zanpakuto back up...

And dissappeared, leaving his blade to pass through empty air as he struck down at nothing.

"Fuck!" Ichigo swore, his eyes darting about for the wayward woman, but to no avail. She'd vanished. Even her reaitsu had faded away to the winds, almost as if she'd never been here-

"Tell me, can you regenerate a severed head?"

He froze as a blade pressed itself to his throat. She'd gotten behind him at some point, and now, had her blade to his throat. The slightest twitch sent a trickle of blood pouring down his throat.

He growled, deep in his throat. Being lead by a shinigami was complete and utter nonsense and he knew it, but what choice did he have? If she refused, he'd be dead as a doorknob, regenerative capabilities or no.

"Yield." She commanded.

That, and he was well aware of the espadas' reaitsu dropping like stones. If he didn't cave, then they'd likely be dead in a minute. As much as he loathed the concept, he'd have to swallow his pride...for now.

"I...yield." He spit at the sand, the very words foul in his mouth. Immediately, Aizen released him, and he wriggled out of her grip, his zanpaktou resealing itself as he stepped away from her.

"Very good then. Shall we return to Las Noches?"

_'Whatever this is, you'll regret giving me this power.' _Ichigo swore as he glared murderously at her back, resisting the urge to try and drive his sword deep into her spine. She paused then waved for him to follow, something the espada only grudginly did.

_'I swear, you'll regret it.'_


	2. Ranking Rights

**_Alright, some typo correction. Luppi=Decima, Iceringer=sexta._**

**_Ranking Rights_**

"Yield." She commanded.

That, and he was well aware of the espadas' _reaitsu_ dropping like stones. If he didn't cave, then they'd likely be dead in a minute. As much as he loathed the concept, he'd have to swallow his pride...for now.

"I...yield." He spit at the sand, the very words foul in his mouth. Immediately, Aizen released him, and he wriggled out of her grip, his zanpaktou resealing itself as he stepped away from her.

"Very good then. Shall we return to Las Noches?"

_'Whatever this is, you'll regret giving me this power.' _Ichigo swore as he glared murderously at her back, resisting the urge to try and drive his sword deep into her spine. She paused then waved for him to follow, something the espada only grudgingly did.

_'I swear, you'll regret it.'_

_--_

_"Eeeeh?!" _Ichigo was positively fuming when he saw the dismal state of the meeting room. A fox faced man with light purple hair and squinted eyes had Cirucci and Mosqueda at sword point, and on the other side of the room, another man with dreadlocks had the other espada pinned to the wall with a series of glowing metallic iron rods.

"Gin, Kaname." Aizen beckoned to the two men. "Release them. We've just received an unconditional surrender.

--

_(One week later)_

Ichigo stalked down the halls, his hands jammed deep into his pockets.

"I do _not _want a Fraccion, and I sure as hell don't need one." Ichigo ground out. All the newer espada had already taken or fraccion, but Ichigo hadn't seen the need for a Fraccion, and hadn't taken any of the available Numeros as his servant's either.

"Seriously niño, a Fraccion will make your life _much _easier, not to mention much more entertaining." Dordonii smirked a toothy grin as he remembered his previous fraccion. "Besides, there are a lot of _new _ones down here. Aizen's been transforming Adjuchas into Arrancar like crazy, and she's already started hunting down the Vasto Lorde." He turned his gaze onto Ichigo. "You might find someone down here that'll be good as your Fraccion."

Ichigo scoffed angrily. "I don't need a fucking servant! If there's anybody I want to talk to I'll see them myself, and I sure as hell don't need someone to protect me."

By that point the two of them had reached the barracks where the Numeros were housed. "Just look at a couple of them, and if you really can't stand any of them, I'll never bring it up again." Dodronni extended his hand.

"Deal." Ichigo agreed, and they shook.

"Alright, there's a common area up here, feels like there's a bunch of them in there." Nnoitra took the lead, striding into the Numeros' common area, all of them freezing as the two Espada walked in.

"Alright, get up ya lowlifes!" Barked Ichigo angrily, using his Pesquisa, trying to see if there were any Numeros in the area that were actually worth taking as a Fraccion. "Find anything?" Asked Dordonii. One caught his attention. The first was slightly stronger than the others, and had a calm about it that intrigued him.

Following it to it's source he found himself standing in front of a young woman.

Oddly enough she seemed to be a victiom of heterochromia,meaning she has two differently colored eyes; her right eye was ice blue, while her left eye was amber with a red outline around it. Her blue jaw-length hair was slightly marked by her mask fragment, atop her head with a horn in the middle, much like that of a unicorn. She wore the white standard Arrancar uniform, but customized with shoulder length sleeves and gloves and collars over her wrists.

"What?" She growled at him. "What the hell're you staring at?"

Ichigo arched an eyebrow.

"What's your name?"

"Apache."

--

Honestly, the only good thing he'd gotten out of this was a new fraccion. She was a spitfire, but at least she could keep up with him, to an extent, so that discarded the possibility of him having to constantly look out for her safety.

All of this and more he reflected upon as he was given the earth shattering news that morning. He'd come to Dordonii the moment the idea to rebel had entered his mind, but now...

"I'm sorry, niño." Dordonii clasped Ichigo's shoulder one last time, then drew him into a strong embrace. "But this plan of yours requires the help of an espada, and I...am no longer an espada." Upon pulling away, he lifted his right sleeve to expose his palm, the rough, calloused skin of his hand now bore a ragged tear mark, the three having simply been ripped away with the flesh.

Ichigo was left speechless, and once more the former nodded.

"Not just me. Cirucci, Gantenbainne, Demora, Iceringer, even Luppi, nearly everyone else has been stripped of their rank as well. You'd best watch yourself, niño. You and the others' may be next."

Releasing the youth's hand, Dordonii moved to pass Ichigo, but instead stopped beside him so that he was facing the door, and Ichigo was still facing the vacant, empty table.

"I may not have said it before, but I truly do see you as my son, as much as you see me as your father. And as the one who has raised you ever since you were just a little niño, I regret leaving you to face this threat alone, Ichigo."

"O-Oi! W-Wait a second!" Jarred and shaken by the exceedingly rare use of his name between them, Ichigo's voice returned to him, and his arm desperately lashed out to seize Dordonii by shoulder. "What's gonna happen to you?!"

A sorrowful Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio could only shrug helplessly as he turned to face the young man whom he'd been proud to call his son for the greater part of sixteen years now. "I do not know. Aizen has demoted Cirucci, Gantenbainne and I, to _privaron espada_. He's ordered us to _Tres Cifas_, niño."

"Let me say this now." Dordonii fixed Ichigo square in the eyes with an unusually serious stare. "Beware of that woman. She's taken an unusual interest in you, and quite frankly, it worries me."

He could only nod numbly as Dordonii rounded the corner, gone from the espada, all because of Aizen.

Demoted?

His blood boiled at the prospect. Upon arrival, Aizen had immediately begun gathering many hollows to her cause. Now, the ex-shinigami was apparently mass producing arrancar with something known as the hogyoku. Arrancar made from this strange substance were inherently ten times stronger than natural born arrancar like himself and Dordonii.

Everyone knew _something_ was going to happen, but somehow, they'd never even seen it coming, not until it was too late, and by then the perpetual night sky had already been beaten bright by the artificial sun. Even Ulquiorra was exasperated by the sudden vacation of rank, and if _he_ was exasperated, then Ichigo was absolutely murderous about it.

Aaroniero Arruruerie had been viciously demoted to the rank of _noveno_, Ulquiorra had been dropped to _Quarta_, and that was only where the injustice began. Now, Dordonnii, Cirucci, and Mosqueda had been kicked out of the espada altogether, demoted to _privaron espada_, a rank that hadn't even _existed_ until now.

Demora, Iceringer, and Luppi had been dropped from the espada as well, but Ichigo couldn't really care less about those three. Ichigo still proudly clung to the rank of _primera_, but now, it felt like an empty position, as he only he and Neliel still held their place, with Nel even being promoted in rank.

Still, Kurosaki's eyes narrowed as he beheld the first of the new arrancar, all of which were men, and none of which he felt anything close to kinship with. Immediately, a strong loathing welled up inside his heart. Some of them even felt as strong as he was in _resureccion_, and some he couldn't even discern, which obviously meant they were hiding their reiatsu.

It felt ridicuously unfair, that he'd worked his ass off to get here, and now these guys, hollow who probably couldn't even hold a candle to him before, were now just waltzing on in as if they owned the place.

He staggered forward as someone hit him from behind.

"Watch where you're going, whelp. Next time I won't soften the blow."

"Te-me!"

Ichigo whipped his hand back around, but his attacker was already out of range. Fuming, the primera could only shoot Barragan a disgusted look and resist the overpowering urge to use _resureccion_ and rip the elder arrancar's head clear off those hunched shoulders. Aizen had appointed the older Vasto Lorde as the _segunda_ Espada without even allowing Neliel, or any of the other arranncar, for that matter, to even attempt to fight him for the rights for the position. However, Aizen's easy defeat of himself still burned in Ichigo's mind, and he was forced to accept Aizen's word as law.

For now.

One day Aizen and all his artificially made espada would fall, Ichigo would make sure of it. As he swore this to himself, he didn't notice one of the newer espada turn towards him.

"Yo! I'm talking to you, dumbass!"

"Huh?" Shaken from his thoughts of revenge, Ichigo swerved to face the speaker.

A man, with light-blue spiky hair and eyes, and with bluish green markings at the corners returned his glare. Like most espada, he'd customized his outfit, a white _hakama_ and a black sash; ragged with an upturned collar. The inner lining was black, the sleeves rolled up, and surprisingly, the arrancar wore it open, leaving a muscular chest revealed. The remains of his Hollow mask consisted of the right jawbone on his face.

The man had a rough air about him, and was around the 5'11 mark to match Ichigo's height.

"Who the hell're you?" Ichigo asked angrily.

"Grimmjow." The man smirked at him. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. _Sexta_ espada."

"Ichigo Kurosaki. _Primera_ espada." Ichigo growled, turning his cheek to expose his tattoo."Now fuck off, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." The arrancar started slightly, and Ichigo reveled in the way the _sexta's_ eyes widened in surprise and anger before he stalked off. Ichigo was in no mood for whatever this guy was after, but if it was a fight, he'd put this one in his place.

"Hey, take it easy." Grimmjow called lazily, reappearing before Ichigo with a sharp buzz of sonido, his hands still pocketed, everything about him suggesting a desire for battle. "I ain't pickin' a fight, not yet."

"Then whaddya want?" Ichigo snapped angrily.

"Nothing much." The sexta replied, moving to block Ichigo once more, his grin widening as a flash of irritation seeped through Kurosaki's stony facade. "Seeing as how yer a natural arrancar, I was just wonderin' if you really deserve that rank of yers, what with us being superior to you and all that."

"Look," Ichigo sighed, reaching to his zanpaktou and grasping its hilt in a clear warning. "I'm really, _really_ pissed of right now, so do you really wanna go there?"

A buzz of Sonido heralded the arrival of the new _tercera_ Espada, Neliel Tu Oderschvank as she appeared next to Ichigo, one hand placed on his right arm. "Stop. Both of of you."

Ichigo's eyes didn't move from Grimmjow's, but he relaxed his grip on his sword.

Ichigo smirked. "Taking orders from a lower ranked Espada? _Pussy."_

Ichigo's face twisted into a snarl and he stepped forward, shrugging off Nel's restraining hand. His Zanpakuto flashed as it was drawn halfway out of its sheath when a familiar Reiatsu interrupted him, freezing him in its tracks. "What is going on here?" A deceptively calm voice asked.

Ichigo looked over towards the head of the table, Aizen standing there flanked by Ichimaru and Tosen. "Nothing, Lady Aizen. Merely an argument that got a little spirited." Just the word 'Lady' left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I see." Aizen said, a small smile tugging at her lips, the woman clearly amused by the scene before her. "I'm afraid the argument will have to be postponed. There is much business to accomplish today." Tosen and Ichimaru remained standing, Tosen expressionless while Ichimaru's ever-present grin hid his thoughts. Aizen sat down at the head of the table as two Numeros entered and began distributing tea. Icihgo sat down between Nel and Ulquiorra as the tea was being poured, shooting a dirty look at Grimmjow in the process.

"Now, let us have some tea."

**_Next time: The seeds of rebellion and....eh?! Seeds of what now?!_**


	3. Seeds of Rebellion Devil Arrogance Mix

**_Alright, some typo correction from last chapter. Luppi=Decima, Iceringer=sexta._**

**_Seeds of Rebellion (Devil Arrogance mix)_**

Ichigo glanced around the table, making no attempt to hide his unease or irritation at the arrival of the newcomers. Aside from himself, Neliel, Aaroniero, and Ulquiorra, all of the original espada were gone, demoted to _privaron_ or declared to be _numeros_ by Aizen.

"You mean this jerkoff's the primera?" Once more, an objection was voiced, though this insult came from the lanky espada with the spoon collar of a hood. He grinned toothily, enjoying the frustration etched into the face of the former primera. Ichigo snarled and reached for his blade.

"Yeah, and you're the fifth. You really wanna piss me off right now?"

Neliel gripped Ichigo's hand and somehow convinced her fellow espada to bite back an offensive comment. Ichigo muttered something and roughly shook her hand away, then stalked back toward his new customary place at Aizen's side, ignoring the glare this earned him from Ulquiorra.

"Now now Nnoitra." Aizen's reaitsu pierced the din of derisive chuckles and snorts, earning an abrupt silence as her featureless brown eyes locked on the _quinto _espada. "Kurosaki Ichigo has already demonstrated his strength in battle. I would...appreciate it if you did not insult him."

A few of the espada chuckled, the rest just smiled silently at Nnotira's embarassment.

Ichigo glanced at some of his new 'comrades'' in turn. Nnoitra, Grimmjow, Zommari, Szayel, Yammy. He found absolutely no reason to tolerate, or even consider accepting, let alone cooperating with these _greenhorns_, although he himself wasn't exactly their senior either, as Barragan was. Then again, Ichigo had next to zero respect for Barragan as well. He could barely tolerate Nel as it were, seeing as his position as the last original espada didn't grant him any favors.

"Now that everyone has had their tea, I would like to make an announcement. We have a new brother in arms." Drawn from his musings, Ichigo looked up, just as the sound of footfalls reached their ears, announcing that another arrancar had entered the room. He was a plain looking fellow, the only exceptional feature about him being the long ragged brown hair and the yellow sheathe and katana at his hip. His dull blue eyes surveyed the room once, followed by a yawn, immediately breaking the tension.

Aizen indicated the newcomer with a wave of her hand.

"This is Coyote Starrk. The newest member of the espada."

"Newest member?" Ichigo did not roll his eyes as before, instead they bored into this silent newcomer, who quietly returned the primera's smoldering stare. Everyone knew that the ranks were already filled, and the induction of another arrancar could only mean one thing. Someone was going to lose their rank, and the only way for an espada to lose his rank was through combat with another espada of equal power.

Meaning that someone, was about to die.

"And what might this 'newest member's' rank be?

Aizen took a slow sip of her tea, then deliberately turned toward Ichigo.

"Why, he is the new primera of course, Ichigo-kun."

A light wind suddenly cut into the windowless room blowing Stark's brown hair back and away from his face. A small smirk crossed his lips as he turned to look at the Shinigami who'd orchestrated this event. Ichigo snarled, baring pearly white teeth in outright disbelief.

"You...have got to be fuckin' kidding me."

"Is that so?" Stark asked lazily as he turned his head to inspect the smiling, ex-shinigami. "Sorry, Aizen, but I'm going to have to agree with the kid. I just woke up, and I'm really not up to that sort of thing-

"_Die."_

The newcomer hadn't even taken his eyes off Ichigo for a second before the primera had attacked. Stark's head snapped back around to see the large cleaver slamming into the stone, a swathe of azure fire chasing the chasm forward. With a tired sigh, Stark released a _cero _from in front of his chest_, _the crimson blast shooting forward and causing Ichigo to abort his attack so that he could dodge. The _cero _demolished the west wall of the antechamber, the stone crumbling as Ichigo regained his footing and stepped forward to look at Stark once more.

The orange-haired Espada grinned, sent rocketing backwards and through the wall of the dark room, creating a large ray of artificial sunlight from the outside of the tower. Starrk buzzed out of sight once more, this time chasing his prey out through the open air of _Las Noches'_ artificial desert.

The room was suddenly moving very quickly, each of the Espada that were sitting at the table now found themselves scrambling to exit the tower and reach the nearest balcony from which to watch the duel. Aizen appeared as though she was going to balk at this behavior, but they had obviously intended for this to be some sort of enjoyed spectacle; she couldn't exactly reprimand her Espada for wanting to witness the battle.

With nary a sound, she rose from her seat, unconcerned as a faint tremor shook the castle. When at last she had reached the balcony, the battle was already well under way, the two arrancar had apparently decided to forgo the formality of waiting for her and begin in earnest.

Ichigo, having already assumed his _ressurrecion _form, stood a few yards apart from Starrk, who, as of yet, hadn't bothered to release his zanpakutou. Neither combatant appeared to be willing to continue the fight, however, without allowing the other to make the next move, the next, fatal mistake. Such a stalemate was bound to last only so long as their patience, and it was apparent that neither possesed such a thing.

"And here I thought you had a little more poise than that," Stark scolded as he held his own _katana _up in a fighting stance. "Distracting me like that, then attacking when my back is turned? For shame, Kurosaki."

"Well, I'm so sorry to have upset you, _espada."_ Ichigo said with an air of sarcasm that was as light as his grin. "But you see, I never really was a fan of long winded speeches."

"I see," Stark quipped before vanishing from sight, his body suddenly reappearing behind Ichigo's in a flash of white and black and silver, his _katana _slicing horizontally through the air. The primera ducked below the decapitating strike and spun with both arms outstretched, his massive tail spinning like a white whirlwind. Stark leapt backwards as the low-striking attack was executed, the black sash at his waist fluttering behind him just long enough to lose an inch off the tip.

The Espada quickly countered, leaping forward while slashing downwards with his yellow-handled sword. Ichigo dodged to the left and slashed inwards, his momentum carrying the deadly blade faster than Stark had anticipated. A small slice appeared along the side of the _Primera's _ribcage, the newly formed slit in his white jacket revealing a thin trickle of blood upon his skin. Stark looked down at it with indifference before turning his attention back to Ichigo. His fellow espada was grinning, apparently pleased by the injury he'd inflicted.

"Say, Starrk?" Ichigo replied, all playfulness now gone from his voice, replaced with his usual characteristic venom. "Any particular reason why you won't release your _resurrección?_"

Stark smirked darkly.

"There's a certain requirment."

"That's right."

"Wonderful."

Ichigo deftly rolled to the side, his blade filling Stark's peripheal vision. At the same time, his tail lashed out, curling around Starrk's katana and hurling it into the air an instant later

Stark blocked the strike with his right hand while simultaneously reaching up and catching his katana as it fell towards him. He brought his newly-armed left hand down immediately upon catching his zanpakuto, the Espada in front of him defenseless against the coming attack. Ichigo leapt back at the last second, the scimitar's edge slicing a thin cut into his chest, blood spilling out of it as he skidded back along his heel. He grimaced slightly as he opened his mouth to speak, but Stark beat him to it:

"_Cero."_

Ichigo didn't have time to react – the attack came from too short a distance. The red beam slammed against his chest and sent him spiraling backwards into the eastern wall of the piazza. His vision was dizzying slightly as he stopped moving and the heat of the _cero _dissipated from his body, but he was able to see the light blue sky above him as he struggled to get up. Stark was suddenly directly above him, his left arm outstretched and sword pointed directly at Ichigo's face, drawing blood as it pricked at the pale flesh of his throat.

"Game over, kid."

"Why haven't you released?" Ichigo questioned suddenly, the simplcity of his query causing Starrk to pause. What was this strange confidence that the boy exuded? Surely he didn't think that he still had a chance of winning? Was he truly that arrogant? Or perhaps, it was something else...

"You really should have...released." Ichigo drooped his head, as though he were sulking, but Starrk felt it, an almost imperceptible rise in the boy's reaitsu, a slow, but steady increase that worried him. "If you had released, then I'd feel a helluva lot better about using this in public."

Too late.

A hellish wave of reaitsu exploded from Ichigo's body, wrapping the arrancar in a bloody chrysalis of white and red from head to toe. Power began to materialize and envelop the Arrancar across from him, smothering his frustrated growl as his hair began to grow out into a long, ragged mane, his skin taking on a chalk white tone as the effects began to spread. A another wave of energy shot outwards at him, the dense blanket of _reiatsu _tore away, revealing a hellish and black demon.

"Good. I didn't get the chance to use this before, but now...

Starrk could only blink as he beheld the change. It, the creature, was barechested, but now his hollow hole could be seen, dead center in its chest as if his heatd had been blasted out his. He gave a small frown as he seemed to notice something was amiss here.

Kurosaki still had a mask, this one resembling more of a human skull, complete with a jaw joint and rounded forehead. From the back of the mask, four spike-shaped marks stretched, two of them stopping by the forehead, and the other two stretching past the eyes and teeth, going past his chin and joining with the marks on his chest. There were also small marks resembling a heart, the top and bottom open, extending from the inner corners of his eyes.

But the mask's most prominent features were two long forward-pointing horns with black strips extending from their center towards the tips. This new form, with that mask...He looked more like demon than any kind of hollow. Slowly, Ichigo rose to his feet, brandishing a thin black daito, in place of the massive cleaver he had wielded just moments ago. His burning golden gaze narrowed upon Starrk, then fell upon a smiling Aizen.

_"Behold."_ Ichigo declared coldly. _"Segunda Etapa!"_

_**A/N: Why is Aizen smiling? Well, Aizen smiling...equals...BAD. As you'll find out in the next chapter.**_


End file.
